Chaos & Crowns, page 4
part #1 of Divine Articles Series
“My Lord,” He took in deep, shuddering breaths. His goatlike snout trembled, lips pursed and eyes wide with fear.
With darting eyes, I understood the fear behind them. I’d been him once, fighting for the right choice of words to deliver bad news.
“Spit it out, Sams. What happened?”
His throat bobbed as the gravity of his words settled in. He opened his mouth tentatively, taking a deep breath before he spoke.
“Daemons. Someone released them from Hell,” he said with a heavy sigh.
Chapter 5
Rhen
By some stroke of luck, the wet snowfall had been enough to keep the raging fire contained within the residential area of the village. Burning through every house it passed, practically nothing was left in its wake besides ashes and charred wood. It had been a devastating sight, many homes filled with so much love and joy now reduced to cinder. The villagers watched helplessly as it wiped their lives out in a matter of minutes, completely at the mercy of this living nightmare.
With Phyre’s help, slaughtered the remaining hounds that stalked Oread. Any that weren’t lying dead in the streets had disappeared from view, licking their wounds. But there was no triumphant celebration emanating from the crowd; instead, only the hushed whispers of frightened fey and human families.
My knees wobbled as I strolled toward the mass of petrified villagers. Phyre looked up at me and gave a slight nod in recognition while attempting to bring them some solace.
The fear emanating from the group was palpable. I couldn’t blame them at all. This nightmare had come out of nowhere and, for a moment there, it seemed like the end. But it had only just begun.
Phyre held her hand up and yelled over the crowd. “I need a head count! If everyone in your immediate household is accounted for, please move to the back of the crowd. If you have any family members missing, have one person from each home step forward.”
The villagers moved in a concerted wave, like a herd of animals. Mothers who were carrying young children on their hips quickly went to the back of the crowd. Nearly twenty men and some women who were near hysteria, all homed in on Phyre.
“Please,” one of the feyrie women cried. Her red-rimmed eyes swelled from exhaustion. “My son. He was right there. He was right there! Please!”
Phyre nodded, her scarlet ringlets shining in the dim light and falling over her face. It was a gesture meant to convey her understanding. She reached out with a gentle hand and clasped the belligerent mother’s fist between both of hers before patting it ever so slightly as a sign of reassurance. The other woman had looked so frightened to have lost sight of her child. I wondered if Mama wore that same broken expression wherever she was.
“Shh. It’s okay. We’ll find him,” Phyre assured her, a promise I wasn’t sure she could keep. The woman nodded and collapsed into a sobbing heap, her body shaking with every cry.
More and more people crowded around, each one voicing the name of a loved one that had been taken away. By the time they were done, thirteen children and twelve adults had been reported missing. It was an increasingly heartbreaking scene as family members embraced each other in sadness, unable to comprehend how such tragedy could befall so many innocent lives. Everyone wanted answers, but instead there was just silence and sorrow spreading among them like a dark cloud on an otherwise sunny day.
I felt helpless standing there while Phyre managed the situation, so I wandered back towards the burning mound of remains. It was almost a given that most of the twenty-five people missing would have been consumed in flames before they had any shot at escaping from their homes. A sickening wave of despair washed over me when I imagined all those lives being extinguished by such an unforgiving beast.
I felt a gripping fear as I approached the building, still smoldering after whatever disaster had recently occurred. The crunching sound of broken debris mixed with the slush beneath my feet made me anxious. My breathing became ragged, and a chill ran down my spine as if an unseen snake was slithering around inside me, slowly tightening its grip on my throat. All I wanted to do was turn around and run away, back to safety from what lay ahead of me, but something inside held me back.
When I picked up the scuffed brown hunting boot and leaned in for a closer look, something inside of me also cracked. The serpent seemed to coil around my neck, my chest, my soul and squeezed a scream from my body.
A partially round object, painted gray from the soot, caved in the shape of my foot. Even with all of my recent training, nothing had prepared me for that.
The boy.
I’d stepped on his crisp skull.
And shattered the only thing that remained of him.
Chapter 6
Baz
I let out a desperate cry for help, aching for oxygen in the depths of my despair. I felt like I was going to be stuck in this place forever, entombed beneath the skin that had become my prison. I would never feel the warmth of the sun on my face again or witness the beauty of another sunrise. Fear and anguish filled me as I thought about my dismal future; it seemed there was no escape from this self-made purgatory.
The stupid monster guffawed aloud at whatever the goddess uttered; her voice distorted. Everything in my world was muffled when he had control of my body. I picked up on some of their distorted words, stringing them together to understand bits of information.
A nightmare.
Trapped in a nightmare of my making. Part of me felt a deep understanding and sympathy for the beast that I had kept in my mind for so long. For many years, I had been medicating him, not realizing how agonizing it was to have no control while being hidden away in the confines of my own mind. Whatever emotions or feelings that I went through, he experienced as well.
But his insatiable hunger for blood bubbled out from the cauldron of our joined souls. When Drea had fed me her blood, she’d awakened him.
And killed me.
The goddess moved closer to me, her hair cascading over her shoulders in a wave like the red sea. She had carefully painted her lips with a glossy hue, and my gaze followed from head to toe. I stopped for an embarrassingly extended period of time, on those extremely long legs of hers; they were mesmerizing. Standing there before me, she was oppressively beautiful — I felt like she could see right through me and into my soul with her piercing gaze.
Ew.
She was a trillion years old. Probably older.
But my own disgust didn’t stop my body from reacting. Nausea boiled in my stomach, and I watched helplessly as my hand caressed her cheek.
“Delicious.” The voice was mine, but it did not belong to me.
Oh, gods. She laughed, a wild and lustrous gaze in her eye. “I prefer you like this,” she said, catching my hand in hers. Her red lips formed around my first finger, and the warmth stirred deep desire.
No, no. I don’t want this. Please.
But he reveled in it, drawing her closer. Her eyes were bright with thirst, and I felt powerless against her. She wrapped herself around me like a snake, slowly but surely captivating me until her body was all I knew.
My heart racing, I begged for mercy in the little space left in my mind — please don’t let this happen.
My finger slipped farther into her mouth, and the goddess moaned as the tip grazed the back of her tongue.
“I’d like to feel your lips around a different erect part of my body.”
Was he flirting with her? I chuckled in response to my own question, pulling out my finger and wiping it on my jeans.
Kill me. For the love of everything holy, kill me.
“Later, beastie,” Drea said, her hand dipping lower, lower until she cupped my throbbing —
Slamming against the mental shields, I grasp her wrist with more force than I’d intended. She narrowed her eyes as she yanked away from my grip. Expecting her wrath, my body seized, freezing in place.
But she only ventured closer toward the pool of water, nestled beneath the shaded canopy. I didn’t recognize my surroundings, yet I knew we were in the Dark Forest by the shape of its gnarled and twisted tree limbs. Its branches hung low over me, like menacing hands threatening to grab a hold of my neck and snap it in two. The further we walked, the more oppressive and threatening this place felt. A heavy air surrounded us that seemed to contain all the fears and secrets of the forest.
We stopped in front of the pool, and I could feel Drea’s excitement radiating off her body as she peered into its depths. The silver liquid seemed to ripple, almost hypnotically, beckoning us closer with some unknown promise.
Killjoy. The beast whispered in my ear. Cockblocker.
I had started to ask what we were doing here, but Drea just gestured towards the calm lake with a quick movement of her finger. Out of sheer interest, my feet moved me closer to the water’s edge. We stopped and took in our surroundings. Ravens flew high above us, cawing loudly with a warning song, and trees swayed softly in the breeze. The sun shone brightly on our faces as we looked out over the lake. It was so still that it appeared like glass, not a single ripple to be seen.
“We’re taking a trip,” she told me, her wicked smile growing.
A ripple formed on the surface and from it emerged a kelpie. The creature’s body gleamed with sparkling water. Moss tangled in its hair. While kelpies were technically Fey, they did not fall under my jurisdiction. In fact, they pretty much followed their own set of rules. Anyone — human or Fey — that set foot too close to their home would be drug into the deep pool of the unknown. They drowned their victims before slicing into their flesh with their razor-sharp talons.
Not wanting to become the kelpies’ next meal, I stumbled back, but Drea laughed aloud and caught my arm.
“Don’t be rude,” she cackled, turning back to the dripping wet monster. Her arm was outstretched to the vile creature, and it placed its hand within hers.
“What are you doing?” I shouted between them. “That thing will rip us to shreds.”
Drea snapped her neck toward me. “Hush. He is our courier. If you offend him again, I will let him snack on your intestines before you have a chance to glimmer.”
The creature flashed it’s rotten, green teeth at me, and my eyes widened. “What do you mean, courier?”
The goddess’s indignation was palpable as she huffed, her eyes rolling with exasperation. “I like the other version of you better. This one asks too many questions.”
When I didn’t break her gaze, she sighed. “If you must know, he is chaperoning us.”
I opened my mouth to ask, Where? But the pieces clicked together. There’d always been a lot of speculation about where the kelpies lived, and how they seemed to be able to live in any type of body of water larger than a bathing tub. One of the many theories was that they could teleport through dimensions, similar to the way our glimmer magick worked, but instead of transporting to specific locations, they could move between realms called the Gray.
My mouth went desert dry. “You’re taking us to Hell?”
She gave a curt nod. “Yes, we are meeting someone very important. I’d hoped to take—well, the more compliant you with me as backup since our magick won’t work there, but I suppose you’ll have to do.”
I shook my head in disbelief, the droplets of sweat from my forehead plastering strands of hair to my face. “Nuh uh. No way.”
I’d seen firsthand the destruction a kelpie could cause, and the sight had left me shaken to my core. All that was left, after it had finished its rampage, was a pool of crimson liquid, along with disgusting remnants of clothing and flesh. I shuddered at the thought of ending my own life in such an awful manner.
“I’m losing patience, little prince.”
A beautiful and serene melody flooded my senses and filled the air with its peaceful sound. I felt my entire being calm as the notes washed over me like a gentle wave, relieving me of all the tension in my muscles. I was unable to resist this sweet spell, almost as if it had cast a kind of silent magick on me. My feet moved unconsciously towards the source of music, wanting to be closer to this wonderful song that brought so much solace. Everywhere it traveled, it seemed to bring joy and contentment, though I was still minutely aware of the danger lurking from its source.
No.
No.
I felt my control slipping away as the beast clawed his way to the surface of my mind. Suddenly, the world around me dimmed, drained of color and life as I involuntarily retreated back into the shadows. In my place stepped forth a creature with a thirst for power and an unstoppable craving for freedom. He had been dormant until now, only stirring in me randomly from time to time, but this was different. Like each time he took power, I weakened, and he grew ever stronger.
Soon, I wouldn’t be able to force him back into the pits any longer. It would be my consciousness taking a backseat to his light.
Before I completely lost consciousness, the water pulled me under its dark and mysterious depths. Everything changed from bright colors above to a murky blue down below. As we sank further and further, the gilded rocks of the forbidden city glimmered eerily in the distance. It was like a dream, with so much beauty and peril surrounding us it felt surreal. Surrounded by this newfound darkness, my legs had gone numb with cold as I continued to fight against the strong currents in an attempt to survive.
I sank further down.
Down
Down
Until everything and nothing was a sheet of onyx.
Chapter 7
Elm
When I finally placed Kol on the exam table with a steady hand, Fern rushed over and elbowed me away. I was stunned by her abrupt action. She’d never been so assertive in my presence before, always bowing humbly before making any decisions.
Still, I took a few steps back and watched as Fern carefully examined Kol, her brow furrowing as she silently studied the creature before her. She moved around him slowly, gently prodding to get an idea of his physical state. With each touch, the sylph let out a whimper of pain as if his very soul was being wrenched from his body.
I’d seen Kol injured before, but never to this degree. Fey could typically resist wounds that would easily be fatal to other creatures because of our natural healing magick, however when there was too much blood loss, it became harder even for us to recover from.
I stood there in horror, unable to look away, as she laid her hands gently on his injured wings. A beautiful, gentle blue light began to emanate from her palms and enveloped the wounded wings in a tranquil aura. I could see where the feathers had been ripped away, yet before my eyes, it repaired itself like a broken vase being glued back together, one piece at a time. The wounds closed, but the regrowth of lost feathers would take time.
“He’s going to be okay,” she said, more to herself than me, but the tremor in her voice did nothing to settle the agony in my heart. Even if she managed to seal every wound, if it didn’t heal properly, he’d likely never fly again.
And Kol, without his wings, would be absolute hell to live with.
Worry kept me from laughing at my internal joke. If he couldn’t fly, Kol would become a shell again. He’d only started opening up after what happened to Jules. His wings were his escape, his sanctuary like the greenhouse was mine. If he needed time to think, he’d take to the skies. I didn’t know what it felt like to feel the wind in my face, but I knew it was his safe place.
“Save him,” I said under my breath. Fern nodded, mindlessly combing the tattered feathers and cleaning the dried blood that spotted the sickly grey feathers.
Knowing I would be nothing short of useless to Kol and a bother to Fern as she worked, I glimmered to the Wilde Hunt’s camp. The moment I stepped out of my web of shadows, Phylix met me with a stern expression.
“What’s happened?” He’d always been able to read me, even before we’d become friends.
“We need backup in Oread. Someone lit it on fire and set hounds loose. Phyre is there now. But Kol—”
Phylix nodded, his curling horns catching the wind. “Go. I’ll send what few I can spare to help. How bad is the damage?”
Catastrophic, I wanted to say. “The entire living quarters are a pile of rubble. The rest remains untouched.”
He inclined his head thoughtfully, and I could see his mind working on a solution. His eyes focused on me with a mixture of sadness and determination. “It’ll take at least a month to rebuild homes.”
I caught his meaning. “Where will they live in the meantime?”
Phylix bowed his head, horns curling gracefully as he contemplated our options. “You could bring them all here, but it’s cramped as is. Perhaps it’s time to send the girl.”
Throwing my hands up in the air, I dissented. She wasn’t ready. She’d only just recently begun to trust the fey herself. Asking her to storm into human lands and try to convince others to put aside years’ worth of hatred for our kind? Impossible.
“No. She’s not ready.”
Phylix’s shoulders sagged, and he let out an audible sigh. He then reached out with his left hand and placed it on my shoulder in a comforting gesture.
“I respected you from day one because of your status as prince. Even allowed the girl to stay with you for training. Now I’m asking, no, telling you it’s time for you to respect me as your leader.”
His words took me by surprise; I stumbled back, instinctively raising my hands in a defensive motion. His arm dropped to his side.
“I do respect you, General.”
“Then I suggest you learn to follow orders. Rhen Hubert was named human advisor. She’s spent a month in your care. Both my sister and Kol have given me updates about her progress, yet you always fail to provide any information. It’s time to stop playing house, and realize we are on the brink of war.”
